JPH10203600A - Filling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a nozzle to be fixed in the vertical direction as well by a simple mechanism. SOLUTION: A vertically moving arm piece 10 is movably supported along a slide shaft 14, and is driven by an air cylinder 16 in the vertical direction. To the leading end of an arm piece 8c on the leading end side, a slide shaft 22 is attached by a pin 20 rotatably within a horizontal plane, and to the slide shaft 22, a slide frame 26 is vertically movably attached, and a nozzle 2 is fixed to the slide frame 26. In order to position and fix the nozzle 2 at a desired position along the slide shaft 22, a plurality of holes 28 for fixing are provided along the slide shaft 22, and on the slide frame 26, a fixing pin 30 which is inserted in the holes 28 as a stopper, and positions and fixes the slide frame 26, is detachably provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filling device for discharging a liquid or powder such as a chemical or petroleum (collectively referred to as a fluid) from a nozzle and filling a container such as a tank. And more particularly to a filling device characterized by a mechanism for transferring the nozzle to a container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A filling device for supplying a liquid such as a chemical or petroleum to a container and filling the container is provided with a nozzle for discharging the liquid supplied from a storage tank by a pump. Various mechanisms have been used as mechanisms for transferring the nozzle to the position of the container.

[0003] If the nozzle is manually brought to the container, a transfer mechanism is not particularly required. However, a filling device having an automatic filling mechanism has an operating mechanism for moving the nozzle up and down and left and right. It can be positioned and fixed at any position. A loading arm and a balancer mechanism are also used,
Such a mechanism can also position and fix the nozzle.

[0004]

In the method of manually bringing the nozzle to the filling container, the nozzle cannot be fixed, and the operator needs to hold the nozzle while discharging the fluid. It takes a lot of time for the filling operation. The automatic filling mechanism requires a large and complicated device.

[0005] The loading arm and the balancer mechanism
Although the nozzle can be freely transferred to the position of the container, the position in the vertical direction cannot be fixed, so that the operator also needs to have the nozzle during the filling operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to facilitate the work of filling a container from a nozzle by enabling a relatively simple mechanism and also fixing in a vertical direction.

[0006]

According to the filling device of the present invention, an arm mechanism in which at least three movable arm pieces are sequentially connected rotatably in a horizontal plane, and a base end of the arm mechanism can be vertically moved. And a drive unit for moving the arm mechanism in the vertical direction along the first guide unit, and provided at the tip of the arm mechanism to discharge fluid and fill the container. Guide for supporting the nozzle in a vertically movable manner at the tip of the arm mechanism, and a stopper for fixing the nozzle at a desired position along the second guide. I have.

It is preferable that the nozzle is provided with a sag preventing mechanism for sucking and removing the fluid remaining at the tip of the nozzle after the end of the fluid discharge. In one example of such a nozzle, a valve that opens and closes a fluid outlet provided at the nozzle tip is provided, and on a surface of the valve, the valve is exposed to the outside with the fluid outlet closed. A plurality of holes for collecting the remaining fluid are formed, and these holes are connected to a flow path for sucking the fluid by negative pressure.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view. Fluid to be filled, such as a chemical, is pumped from a storage tank, and the flow rate is made constant by a flow meter, and is discharged from a nozzle 2 to a container 4 such as a tank. The discharge amount is controlled to be a set amount by a quantitative valve provided in a flow path (not shown) reaching the nozzle 2.

As a mechanism for transferring the nozzle 2 to the position of the container 4, an arm mechanism 6 for positioning the nozzle 2 at a position on the container 4 in a horizontal plane is provided. The arm mechanism 6 includes four arm pieces including three movable arm pieces 8a to 8c and a vertically movable arm piece 10 at a base end, and the respective arm pieces are sequentially connected. 1 pin for rotation between each arm
2 and a connecting plate 13 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane.

A vertically extending slide shaft 14, which is a first guide, is fixed to the support base 15, and the vertically movable arm piece 10 at the base end of the arm mechanism 6 is movable along the slide shaft 14. Supported. The tip of a rod 18 of an air cylinder 16 serving as a driving unit is attached to the lower surface of the arm piece 10.
6 drives the slide shaft 14 vertically in the vertical direction.

A vertically extending slide shaft 22 serving as a second guide is rotatably mounted on a horizontal plane by a pin 20 at the distal end of the arm piece 8c on the distal end side. A slide frame 26 is vertically movably mounted on the slide shaft 22 with springs 24a and 24b interposed therebetween. The nozzle 2 is fixed to the slide frame 26.

In order to position and fix the nozzle 2 at a desired position along the slide shaft 22, a plate provided along the slide shaft 22 is provided with a plurality of fixing holes 28 along the slide shaft 22. The slide frame 26 is provided with a fixing pin 30 for positioning and fixing the slide frame 26 by being inserted into the hole 28 as a stopper so as to be insertable and removable.

The movable arm pieces 8a to 8c of the arm mechanism 6
The arm pieces 8a and 8c have the same length, and the arm piece 8b has a shorter length. The arm mechanism 6 can transfer the nozzle 2 to an arbitrary position within a circle centered on the base end in a state where the arm pieces 8a to 8c are linearly extended. FIG. 3 shows the connection between the arm pieces 8a and 8b in detail.
When the length between the holes into which the pins 12 of the arm pieces 8c are inserted is C, the length between the holes of the arm pieces 8b is A, and the width of each arm piece in the horizontal plane is B, A ≧ 2B 3A ≦ C When the length of each arm piece is set such that the following relationship is established, the arm mechanism 6 can be made compact.

The height of the arm mechanism 6 is controlled by the air cylinder 16.
The movement of the nozzle 2 along the slide shaft 22 by a short distance in the vertical direction for putting the nozzle 2 into the container 4 or removing it from the container 4 is made by manually moving the nozzle 2 along the slide shaft 22.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The container 4 to be filled is placed within the movement range of the arm mechanism 6, and the height of the arm mechanism 6 is fixed by the air cylinder 16. Hold the nozzle 2 by hand and move it in a horizontal plane,
The nozzle 2 is positioned on the container 4. The arm mechanism 6 can be freely moved in a horizontal plane by pivotal attachment between the arm pieces. When the nozzle 2 comes over the container 4, the nozzle 2
Is lowered along the slide shaft 22, the tip of the nozzle 2 is inserted into the container 4, and the fixing pin 30 is inserted into the hole 28 at the height position to fix the height of the nozzle 2. In this state, a valve is opened from the control panel, and a predetermined amount of fluid is discharged into the container 4. After the filling of the container 4 is completed, the fixing pin 30 is pulled out, the nozzle 2 is again moved up by holding it by hand, and is taken out of the container 4.

If the material to be filled is a liquid such as a chemical, the nozzle 2 is closed even after the filling operation is completed and the valve is closed.
The liquid may drips from the tip of the. Therefore, nozzle 2
It is preferable to use one provided with a dripping prevention mechanism for collecting the liquid attached to the nozzle tip.

FIG. 4 shows a specific structure of the nozzle 2 having such a sag preventing mechanism. FIG. 4 (A)
(B) shows a state in which the fluid is ejected, and (B) shows a state in which the liquid attached to the tip is collected after the nozzle is closed. A fluid outlet 44 from which the fluid supplied from the fluid inlet 42 is discharged is provided at the tip of the nozzle body 40, and the fluid outlet 44 moves vertically along the axial direction of the nozzle body 40 to move the fluid outlet 44. A valve 46 for opening and closing 44
Is provided. The valve 46 is a rotating body about the central axis of the nozzle body 40. Valve 46 has an O around its side.
A ring 48 is provided and the fluid outlet 46 is closed by its O-ring 48 by raising the valve 46,
Is pushed down, the fluid outlet 44 is opened.

In order to move the valve 46 in the up-down direction, a shaft 52 to which the valve is attached is provided with a piston 52 which moves in a cylinder 56. In the cylinder 56, the piston 52 is connected to the air port 54 which is connected to the air port.
Move the stroke between a and 54b. Air entrance 5
By supplying the compressed air from 4a, the valve 46 is pushed down and descends, and by supplying the compressed air from the air port 54b, the valve 46 is raised and elevated.

After the fluid outlet 44 is closed by the valve 46, a drain collecting passage 58 is provided through the center of the shaft 50 to collect the fluid adhering to the tip of the nozzle 2. Penetrates to the tip of the valve 46, at which the opening widens. In addition, a slit 60 is provided along the circumference at the distal end of the valve 46 near the distal end of the rotary body-shaped valve 46, and a plurality of recovery holes 62 connected to the slit 60 are formed in the passage 58. It is provided to communicate. The widened portion at the end of the passage 58 at the valve 46 and the circumferential slit 60 make it possible to form a recovery hole at the nozzle end with the fluid outlet 44 closed as shown in FIG. O-rings 64, 66, and 68 are provided near the cylinder 56 to prevent compressed air from leaking.

Next, the operation of the nozzle 2 will be described. When the fluid is supplied to the container, the valve 46 is lowered and the fluid outlet 44 at the tip of the nozzle is opened as shown in FIG.
Fluid is supplied from the fluid inlet 42 and discharged to the container.
When the supply of fluid is stopped, compressed air is supplied from the air inlet / outlet port 54b, and the valve 46 is pulled up.
The state shown in (B) is reached and the fluid outlet 44 is closed. Thereafter, the communication passage 58 is made negative pressure by suction means such as a pump or a cylinder, and the fluid remaining at the nozzle tip is sucked from the slit 60 through the recovery hole 62 or from the tip of the communication passage 58, and Collected via 58.

[0021]

According to the present invention, an arm mechanism having at least three movable arm pieces and capable of transferring a nozzle to an arbitrary position in a horizontal plane is provided, and the arm mechanism is vertically moved and fixed, and the tip of the arm mechanism is provided. The nozzle can be fixed at any position in the horizontal plane and at the desired height by moving and fixing the nozzle in the vertical direction, so the nozzle can be freely moved to the filling container position with a simple mechanism And the vertical position can be fixed, eliminating the need for the operator to hold down the nozzle during filling.
Work becomes easier. In addition, when the nozzle is provided with a dripping prevention mechanism that suctions and removes the fluid remaining in the flow path in the nozzle after the end of the fluid discharge, it is possible to prevent the environment from being polluted by the dripping after the end of the discharge. become able to. As the nozzle, a valve that opens and closes a fluid outlet provided at the nozzle tip is provided, and the remaining fluid is collected on a surface of the valve where the valve is exposed to the outside with the fluid outlet closed. By using a plurality of holes that are connected to a flow path that sucks a fluid by negative pressure, a sag preventing mechanism can be easily realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a connecting portion of the arm pieces in the embodiment.

4A and 4B are cross-sectional views showing a nozzle provided with a sag preventing mechanism, wherein FIG. 4A is a state in which a fluid is supplied, and FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Nozzle 6 Arm mechanism 8a to 8c, 10 Arm piece 12 Rotating pin 14, 22 Slide shaft 16 Air cylinder 28 Fixing hole 30 Fixing pin 42 Fluid inlet 44 Fluid outlet 46 Valve 56 Cylinder 58 Sauce collecting passage

Claims (3)

[Claims] An arm mechanism in which at least three movable arm pieces are sequentially connected so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane; a first guide section that supports a base end of the arm mechanism so as to be movable in a vertical direction; A drive unit for moving the arm mechanism in the vertical direction along the first guide unit; a nozzle provided at the tip of the arm mechanism for discharging fluid and filling the container; and a tip of the arm mechanism A second guide portion for supporting the nozzle movably in a vertical direction at a portion, and a stopper for fixing the nozzle at a desired position along the second guide portion. apparatus. 2. The filling device according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is provided with a sag preventing mechanism for suctioning and removing the fluid remaining at the tip of the nozzle after the end of fluid discharge. 3. The nozzle is provided with a valve that opens and closes a fluid outlet provided at the tip of the nozzle, and on a surface of the valve where the valve is exposed to the outside with the fluid outlet closed. Has several holes to collect the remaining fluid,
3. The filling device according to claim 2, wherein the holes are connected to a flow path for sucking a fluid by a negative pressure.